Steve and Caryn

Steve and Caryn contacted us to explore options to turn their 1990’s custom home in a modern industrial/contemporary home.

They wanted to switch up the layout of the house, to facilitate large friends-and-family gatherings while maximizing the incredible views from both front and side of the house. It was incredibly easy to embrace this vision, since our passion is to help our clients change the way they live.

Several huge changes had to be made to achieve this vision. First, we changed the “eagle’s nest” (the exterior deck on top of the roof) into an interior loft with a glass ceiling for stargazing, where friends and family can look into the kitchen and living room over the bar-height walls. We had to drop the deck floor about 36 inches to create this transformation. We finished the space with an amazing rustic wood wrap, gorgeous stained pine accents, and metal brackets that resulted in an incredibly custom feature of the home.

Next, we moved the kitchen from center of home (underneath the original eagle’s nest) to the side of home, which originally held a ping pong table, some storage/office space – and some of the most spectacular views.

We added a 14 foot pano door that opens onto the side deck, allowing family and guests to enjoy the view from this extension of the kitchen. The ceilings over the kitchen space were lifted to match the living room, and the walls were removed to completely maximize views of the water from any area on the main floor.

The kitchen design included white shaker cabinets with gray quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances. The island was designed to be a focal point, by switching the cabinets to gray and adding a Dekton countertop that brings that modern industrial flair, nicely complementing the rustic wood wrap on the loft.

The Wolf downdraft stove top and Best downdraft are centered nicely on the island, to create a fabulous focus point for the entire space. Caryn had said it was important to her that she didn’t face a wall while cooking; rather, she wanted to look out over her whole family and the beautiful Puget Sound. The kitchen design also included a bar area for daytime work and writing, which also faces the full view of the water.

It’s incredible the transformation that took place just by adjusting the location of the kitchen and removing a wall that was blocking off that side of the living space!

Another major change was made when we completely rearranged the master suite layout – switching the toilet, tub, shower, and closet layout into a spa-like flow that inspires rest and relaxation. We took out the low ceiling between the bedroom and bathroom, removed the built in, tile-surrounded tub, and put in a beautiful freestanding tub wide enough for two. The original shower was small and closed in. This was redesigned with a glass wall, dual shower heads, a long bench, and a niche that extended between each end.

The master has a fireplace that divides the bath space from the bed space. This was something they wanted to keep for the ambiance; so rather than replace it, we surrounded it with beautiful tile on the base and the top. We also painted the metal black, and eliminated the old, shiny brass finish that did not line up with their updated design theme. Other master suite changes included a mirror that runs from the counter to the ceiling, reflecting all the light of the room, and mercury glass light fixtures installed directly into the mirror. We also had some creative ways to create closet space into an open area.

Another area we really focused on details were the stairwells, both in the entry and the stairs to the loft. The entry had a smaller wood French door with half moon window above and the landing. The entry was a split stairwell with a landing was too small to allow guests room to get inside together. Also, the up and down flow was backwards. We flipped the stairs in the entrance, keeping in mind the vision of large friends-and-family gatherings. This shift allowed the landing to increase in size, enough for a few to enter together and set down their belongings. We added spectacular hand-scraped, white oak open tread and risers, then stained them to accent both the colors from the continuous floors, the posts, and the wood wrap of the loft.

We also switched from half walls in the stairwell to incredible modern dark stained posts with cable rail. This created the look Caryn and Steve had wanted from the moment their guests arrived. In that entryway, we exchanged the smaller door for a large 8 foot modern black door with horizontal glass slats. We also switched the rounded half circle window above the door with a wide rectangular one. The stairs to the loft were also refinished with the same wood and tread with rails that flowed well in the whole home.

So how did we change the way they lived? Steve and Caryn have a large family. They enjoy their exceptionally brewed cup of coffee together each morning. The flow of their kitchen was designed with every detail to help them have all of that. We even created a designated barista space with floating shelves, and another area for the wine fridge with a butler space to stage and serve it. In the master suite, their shared space is now more like a shared spa.

There are so many small ways that could fill pages to answer how, and what was a great home on the most perfect location with the most unmatchable view became their dream home.

BEFORE

AFTER